In the words of wildly popular rapper Drake, “started from the bottom, now we’re here.”
Those lyrics signify how the team at Tommy Gatz Entertainment currently feels after recently surpassing our five-year milestone. When I started the company at age 19, I had high hopes and big dreams. Through a combination of luck and skill, I have grown my business into a multi award-winning, full-service event production company.
It used to just be Tommy Gatzionis aka DJ Tommy Gatz, spinning tables at any bar, club or family event that I could. Now, I have a team that offers DJ music, candid and professional photography, cinematography and videography, event lighting, wedding day coordination, photo booths and more.
From private parties like sweet sixteens and happy hours to business functions like magazine launches and fashion shows to high school dances like homecomings and proms to celebrations of love like weddings, engagement photo shoots and beyond… Tommy Gatz Entertainment does it all. Even if President Obama crashes an event, the show must go on (that actually happened to us)!
Luckily, I have amazing clients who help me as much as I help them. Many have become like family and will continue to be throughout our lives. My clients not only refer me to their family and friends but have also hired me on multiple occasions for different events. We even worked every wedding of one family’s three daughters– all within a two-year time span! I am especially grateful for Mr. Doug Brown of South River High School, who helped launch my business by taking a chance on me and becoming my first client when I was 19 years old.
I obviously love meeting new people but not just for the sake of working. Using my platform to create awareness for different causes and educate fellow millennials is something I highly enjoy. For example, we have created custom Tommy Gatz Entertainment t-shirts to represent standing up to bullying, breast cancer awareness and more. The shirts are given away for free at events and whoever wears them are encouraged to upload a picture and tag us on social media (Tommy Gatz Entertainment on Facebook and @tommygatzent on Instagram).
Aside from the t-shirts, I like to gift clients with other types of mementos from their event. For example, recently married couples receive plaques with our favorite picture of them and teens celebrating their birthdays receive a customized teddy bear during their parties. We like to make your celebration extra special, not just because it was a fantastic day or night.
Donating my time to charity and students has a soft spot in my heart and I am very proud to say that I have worked performances free of charge to numerous organizations. This includes providing DJ music for fundraisers (one which helped raise $10,000 for an orphanage), making mix tapes for a varsity girls soccer team that ended up winning the state championship and hiring a student with a passion for fashion as an intern for me during a fashion show.
Twenty-three awards later, Tommy Gatz Entertainment is thriving and brainstorming ways on how to celebrate our important anniversary. Hopefully, it is something where we can invite all of our past clients to thank them–AND YOU– for supporting us as a small business. Until then, we hope to see you all sometime soon whether at a wedding, birthday party, our awesome state-of-the-art showroom or our very own soirée!
Sincerely,
Tommy
